Steven Squire competes in the GNCC XC2 Pro Class aboard an Obermyer Yamaha.

XC2 SS 895

Hey there again!

First off I want to thank all of you, the people who read my article. Whether you have read every one or this is your first time, I enjoy writing this a lot and hope you do the same reading it. If you have any suggestions or comments on something you would like to see, let me know! I’ll make it happen!

September is just about over, that means two things; first off fall is here and the weather is obviously changing, second off the GNCC summer break is over and we are back at it for the second half of our season! Everybody is trying to secure a ride for next year and to finish off the year with their best possible finishes, and that is exactly what I am doing also. Lucky enough for me though, I love fall and seem to do best later in the season, also the Powerline Park and Iron Man GNCC are the only two GNCCs that I have previously competed in, so it will be nice to have a little prior knowledge going into those two races.

So what have I been up to this month? It has diffidently been a busy and exciting month for me. I started the month off by making a trip to the Duvall ranch and spent a week riding with Thad and that was a blast as usual. We got in an insane amount of riding in three days and it really helped me turn my summer around, as it seemed that I had been struggling on my bike. I came back home on Friday and then Saturday I went down to the river and helped Whitney’s family with a golf cart poker run and it was a great time. Just a brief on Whitney’s families racing background, her dad Aaron Hough and uncle Kurt Hough are retired off-road racers for Kawasaki and have both competed in ISDE, and her grandpa Donnie Hough, at 72, still races at least twice a month. So spending time with them is always great and the stories they have are just unbelievable sometimes.

The next morning, (Sunday) Whitney and I headed down to Jasper, IN to meet up with Cross Rut Films producer Patrick Uebelhor to produce a sweet clip for a project he had for his school, he is a film student and a big up and comer! After it poured down rain the entire first half of the day we were supposed to film, we began to worry how the shoot was going to turn out, but a friend of his showed us this sand pit that saved our day and it was some of the sickest riding you could imagine! We stayed there Sunday and Monday to film and Patrick blew me away with some of his ideas. I am supper appreciative that he gave me the opportunity to work with him and I hope to get the chance again.

The next week was spent prepping for the Unadilla GNCC. Since I hadn’t ridden my race bike since Snowshoe we tested it all day Wednesday, loaded Thursday, and then left bright and early Friday morning to make the long trek up to New York. I was really excited for New York, but after hearing about all the flooding I began to worry if the race was going to be a disaster. Luckily enough the rain stopped in plenty of time for the track to turn up and it was almost perfect!

(Undadilla race report can be found here: Steven Squire on Facebook

The week after Unadilla was a slow week for me. I rested and cleaned everything up on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, DQ and I painted all the outside trim around dad’s house and then cut a loop into DQ’s woods. I worked for dad Thursday and helped him move three printing presses from Herff Jones print shop and then rode at DQ’s house Thursday night.

Saturday was round 8 of the MAXC series in Canaan, IN and like usual, they had a pretty good turn out and it was a lot of fun. I had a good ride besides a early race crash on lap two that set me way behind the leaders. On Sunday I raced the Black Coal National HS in Lynnville, IN and had a solid ride for 2nd o/a. (for more info and RR check FB page)

Last week went by insanely fast leading up to the Mountain Ridge GNCC. I worked for dad Tuesday and Wednesday, loaded all day Thursday and left Thursday night as soon as Whitney got home from school. DQ drove almost all night to Shawn Remington’s house so that I could go ride with him, Whibbley, Thomas, and A.J. Stewart on Friday. It was certainly worth the late night because what we rode on Friday was a lot like what I raced on Sunday. The highlight of the day Friday was Whibbs getting a flat front tire and not having an extra tube so he stuffed his tire full of knee high grass and just kept riding. He said, “It’s an old ISDE trick,” but that just goes to show why he is one of the best, this wasn’t six days, it was a nasty rainy practice day that was ¾ over.

We headed out from Shawn’s house Saturday morning to head to the race and arrived there right after the start of the p.m. quads, thanks to a Rem detour/wrong turn. We got all set up and ready for Sunday and I felt good about race day. Sunday morning I walked some of the track to see what I was “in-for” and it looked NARLY! Coming from a MX background, if there is anything I usually struggle with, it’s nasty rock sections, and that pretty much described the PA track. I knew that I just needed to ride my own race and do my best, and that is what I did. Somehow I managed to pull out my best results of the year with a 10th in XC2 and 23rd overall. Seems like I am beginning to become a more diverse rider, which is what I need to be in order to finish up front, and that is where I want to be.

That is all for this months “Where in the World is Squire.”

To finish out this month, I am racing the National Enduro in Indiana this weekend, which is looking to be a wet one! As for October, I have a full month of racing including two GNCCs, a MAXC, and an OMA! Going to be a busy, but I am really excited for it! Also, check out the video that I shot this month with Cross Rut Films: CrossRut Video With Steven Squire

To find out/stalk more of Steven Squire checkout his Facebook Fan Page!